Birds are doing quite well. We are starting to lose a few chicks each day. Seems like the weak ones are gonna die no matter what you do. I tried running a quarantine for a few days and could save about 50%. However, when I released them back into the group they ended up dead a few hours/days later. As far as I can tell, the rehab is more trouble than it’s worth. I will try it again when the birds are a little older and starting to feather out.

As a whole the birds are doing well. I am careful to keep the feeders full of feed so they don’t peck at each other. I have to increase the temperature at night using the propane heater. The weather was cold for a few days and I had to use the propane all day. One propane bottle will last me about 36 hours on high heat. The weather has been warmer laely and I can turn the propane off during the daytime. So far, we have only lost about 20 chicks. I am keeping a journal and logging temps, feedings and mortality several times daily.

Started with a two hour drive to Green River, UT to pick up the chicks from Hatt’s Ranch game bird hatchery. Seemed like a large operation as one of their employees told me this week they hatched 40,000 chicks. There were 29 boxes in all totaling somewhere around 4,000 chicks. We didn’t chat much at the hatchery, just got loaded and headed for home to get the birds settled.

When we got home I unboxed the birds and removed them all by hand and placed them in the brooder circles. Russ took the bulk of the chicks (21 boxes) to his house for brooding in the big brooder barn. I took home 8 boxes and ended up with two boxes of chukar chicks, one of mutant pheasants, and the rest ringnecks.

We have a custom chick starter chopped for us locally, about a 32% protein medicated feed. I like to use a few of the pads out of the shipping boxes to double the feed availability during the first week or so. The chicks seem to eat this food before they figure out the trough feeders have feed in them too.

The temp around the inside of the brooder hood is around 100 degrees, and initially they held pretty tight under the hood for warmth. Within minutes they were circulating and finding the feeders and shipping pads with food on them. I was amazed that there was not one dead bird out of the 8 boxes I opened (about 1000 chicks).

I use the nipple waterers from the folks at Nature’s Way. It is fascinating how the day-old chicks seem to know exactly what to do to get the water. One of the nipples had a bit of a leak, but I left it alone as a lot of the birds were drinking from it.

The temperature is absolutely crucial during the first few weeks of life. I keep a couple thermometers laying around and take frequent readings to make sure things stay consistent. If the chicks get too cold they start to bunch up and pile on each other suffocating those on the bottom. If they are too hot they will hold their wings and appear to be panting. If they are cheaping and moving around then all is well.

I brought my propane radiant heater in to help keep the temps up during the night as it is supposed to be a bit cold for a few days. Last year I used a camp chef propane cooking stove as that’s all I had available. I also have a spare bottle of propane standing by in case I run out.

After I got the birds settled in and felt like all was well for a minute, I headed over to Russ’s pheasant farm to see how his chicks were doing. He has four big circles (10-12 feet across) with natural gas powered brooder hoods. He has taught me that sitting and watching the birds is the best way to keep track of their health and wellness. I’ll check the birds every couple hours for the first 24 hours or so. Things can go downhill fast.

Heading to Green River tomorrow to pick up 1000 day-old ringneck pheasant chicks. Had a blast last year raising 500 chukar chicks. I will be working more closely this year with my friend and mentor Russ Peterson at Rooster Valley Pheasants. I will be selling most of the birds directly to him for use on his hunting preserve. I will keep a few pheasant for myself for dog training purposes and perhaps as breeders for next year. Russ usually raises two batches of pheasant chicks each year. We are hoping with the addition of my brooder rooms and grow-out pens we will be able to avoid raising a second batch in July when the weather is hotter. Mortality rates seem to be much better here in May and June before the Summer heat really turns on. It seems to be easier to warm the chicks up than to cool them down if too hot.

I spent all day yesterday getting the brooder rooms prepared for the chicks. I scrubbed down everything with a water/clorox mixture to disinfect and clean. Tonight I will turn on the heat lamps and get the brooder rooms warmed up 12-24 hours before the birds arrive. We use 1/4″ welded wire for our circles and the nipple waterers from Nature’s Way. The ground inside the circles is covered with pine shavings and great care is taken to keep temperatures warm enough. I will have to supplement my heat lamps with a propane radiant heater as freezing temps are common here in late May and early June. The first few days are always a little stressful, but hopefully things will go smoothly. I’ll post some pics when the birds arrive tomorrow.

A messy part of the puppy growth and development process is the weaning of the pups from momma dog. During this important transition from the mother’s milk to solid foods there are several tricks that breeders use to make things go smoothly. Commonly, the first introduction to solid foods will be a heated mash containing puppy food, milk and water. The only problem with the popular puppy mash is that it is extremely messy. No matter what you do – the puppies seem to want to jump right into the mash and get it everywhere. This is how they learn that dog food is good to eat. But, I’ve found a way to help keep things a little cleaner.

A cool idea I found on the internet is a simple wooden feeder stall built to isolate the puppies to their very own food dish (Notice the blocker boards in the back of each stall to help keep the dish from flipping up if pup gets his paws up on the front edge of the dish). This helps to keep things a little cleaner and gives all the pups an equal chance at the food trough. You will still have to watch them closely because there always seems to be a pig in the litter who inhales food and moves on to the next food dish when his is gone. Or on the flip side, the timid puppy that may need a little extra encouragement during the transition to solid foods. The puppy feeder stalls seems like a good idea to me.

Later this Fall I hope to breed one of my hunting dogs and have a litter of puppies. With this plan in mind I have been gathering information and researching all aspects of dog breeding over the last couple years. In my research I ran across quite a few different ideas for whelping boxes to keep the puppies safe and sound while young.

This design is by far the cheapest to build and the simplest idea I have found. The whelping box is a plastic kiddy pool that you can get from Wal-Mart or Ace Hardware for less than $10. The side bumpers consist of a small section of 3-4 inch flexible plastic drain pipe. You can get it pretty cheap at Lowes or Home Depot. The drain pipe is attached by drilling holes and fastening to the pool edge with zip ties. The drain pipe should be suspended about 3-4 inches off the bottom of the pool. This keeps the puppies from being accidentally suffocated by the mother or laid on.

This is a square shaped box made out of 2x12x8 lumber. The bumpers on this design are constructed of 2-3″ PVC pipe and fittings. The whole bumper assembly is glued together and can be reomved and hung on the wall when the pups get big enough. Some people line the whelping box with news paper or blankets to make clean up easier. The main thing is to be sure the puppies stay warm enough in winter or cool enough in summer depending on your climate and season.

This is a custom hexagon design that I really liked. It is only about 5 feet in diameter and the design has built-in bumpers along the inside edge of the whelping box. You can finish the wood and make it look nice to match your furniture if your litter is going to be born in the house. This is a great design if you plan on having several litters. I like the round or hex shapes better than the square design because there are no corners for a puppy to get trapped in.

Just mailed my check in for the upcoming Dave Walker dog trainng seminar. I have heard so many good things about Dave and his training methods I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity. It’s being hosted by the Wasatch Front Brittany Club and it’s only a couple hours drive to the training grounds. The only hard part for me is deciding which dog to take with me to the seminar. Since Annie has been behaving so well I think I will take her, besides Dave Walker is a brittany guy anyway.

Another thing I am looking forward to is meeting some of the folks from the Utah Bird Dog Fourm who will also be attending the seminar. Since I live in a more rural part of the state it is sometimes hard to connect with fellow bird dog folks. I am hoping to talk to the folks at the Wasatch Brittany Club about the logistics of starting a bird dog club in Central Utah. A few of us have been kicking around the idea of starting a club for some time. The only trouble is we don’t know exactly how to go about it.

One thing we are considering is covering a broader spectrum of hunting dogs instead of specializing in one breed or breed type like pointers or retrievers. The idea is to welcome all hunting dogs and their owners, to get together and discuss training ideas and gear, and to do some fun hunts to prepare for testing or trialing. It seems like the hard-core guys hit the trialing/testing circuit hard during the summer months, but the casual hunters just kennel their dogs until hunting season. Hopefully, a bird dog club could be useful to both hunters and trialers alike.